Day: September 30, 2011

SUKKUR: In a woman’s complaint cell, barefooted, but decked up like a bride, 11-year-old Nadia told The Express Tribune of how her father had bartered her off in ‘marriage’ to a boy almost twice her age.

Late on Wednesday, a woman came to the New Pind police station claiming that her husband had forced her daughter into marrying a 20-year-old boy.

She directed the police to a house in Islam Colony, from where they arrested her husband, Mohammad Yasin Shaikh, her new son-in-law, Shakeel Shaikh, and his brother Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh along with Maulvi Noor Ahmed Chachar. Nadia and her mother, Ghulam Zuhra, were sent to a women’s complaint cell.

On Thursday, Nadia and the four men came before the second civil judge and judicial magistrate, Sukkur, Rajab Ali Shar, who, after recording their statements, promptly sent all four of them to jail for a14-day judicial remand.

In her statement, Nadia told the court that her father had forced her into marrying Shakeel and opted to leave with her maternal uncle, Lal Mohammad Shaikh.

Earlier at the women’s complaint cell, Nadia vehemently spoke about how her father is a greedy man and must have done the whole thing for money. The previous morning, her father beat her mother out of the house. “That afternoon, Shakeel and the maulvi arrived and my nikkah was solemnised,” she said. “After the nikkah, Shakeel took me to his house, from where the police found me.”

According to Ghulam Zuhra, her husband had married another woman six months ago and, in exchange, promised to give up their daughter Nadia. When Zuhra tried to stand up to him, he beat her. “I went to my brother’s house and, taking advantage of my absence, he married Nadia off,” she told The Express Tribune, “but a neighbour told me about this and I immediately informed the police.”

The complaint centre head, Safia Baloch, explained that the whole episode was a result of a lack of awareness. The cell’s SHO, Zuhra Shah, said that girls involved in child marriages and karo-kari disputes are kept at the cell before they are taken to court.

The cell has only one male police constable and very few staffers — eight female constables who work around the clock in shifts with very few facilities. The building was initially supposed to be a women’s police station but was turned into a complaint cell.

Source: The Express Tribune

Date:9/30/2011

By Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: Women legislators and political leaders belonging to almost all major political parties on Thursday called for allocation of 10 per cent mandatory quota of party tickets for women in the next elections.

The demand came from the women parliamentarians in the form of a declaration at the conclusion of a roundtable on “Strengthening women`s representation in political and legislative process” organised by the Women Parliamentary Caucus here.

“We resolve to build consensus among the political parties to amend the political parties act so as to provide mandatory quota of 10 per cent of winnable general seats to women to mainstream them in electoral processes before the next elections,” said the declaration released to the media.

Deputy Chairman Senate Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali was the chief guest at the conference that was attended by women representatives from the Pakistan People`s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), PML-Q, Awami National Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, PPP(Sherpao), Balochistan National Party and the PML(Functional).

Speaking on the occasion, the deputy chairman Senate highlighted the meaningful role women had been playing in the legislative business. He admitted the nexus between sustainable development and the role of women at the political and decision-making process, and recommended the need to give a minimum of 33 per cent representation to women in the legislative assemblies.

WPC secretary and PPP MNA Nafisa Shah referred to the outstanding and proactive performance of the women legislators in legislative business in the recent years.

She recommended to the political parties to review the existing special measures for women`s participation in the legislatures making it more transparent, effective and empowering for women in politics.

The participants of the roundtable, including senior office-bearers of the political parties and members of the national and provincial assemblies, resolved to protect and preserve the provision of reserved seats for women in the National Assembly, Senate and the provincial assemblies. They also committed to enhancing and strengthening women`s representation in legislatures by working within their respective political parties to increase women`s representation at all levels of decision-making in the political forums.

Prominent among those who attended the event were Yasmeen Rehman (PPP), Bushra Gauhar (ANP), Asiya Nasir (JUI-F), Tasneem Siddiqui (PML-Q), Nuzhat Sadiq (PML-N), PPP Senator Saeeda Iqbal, Senator Farah Aqil, and MPA Nargis Faiz Malik.

Through the declaration, the participants of the roundtable recalled that “the Constitution of Pakistan provides women equal rights, rejects all forms of discrimination and promotes their full participation in public life.”

They also paid tributes to women leaders of Pakistan, particularly Fatima Jinnah, Rana Liaquat Ali and Benazir Bhutto “whose courage and exemplary contributions in public and political life have greatly inspired, built a sense of confidence and empowered the women of Pakistan.”

Source: Dawn

Date: 9/30/2011